This blog is devoted to my art of wood carving and my culture. I am Haida and Nisga'a and a Pacific Northwest Native artist. I chronicle my art and culture and try to sell my art along the way! Contact me at Nisgatotempole@hotmail.com
ルークパーネル西の海岸、アーティスト、木製彫刻、トーテムポールメーカー、ハイダ語ニスガ族インディアン

Saturday, January 12, 2013

The Magic Flute: Act one

I was referred by Brenda Crabtree to an exhibition curated by Rosemarie Spahan. The exhibition will run in conjunction with the Vancouver Opera’s rendition of The Magic Flute written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Rosemarie invited a few artists to watch, on DVD, a previous version of the opera done by the company. It had a heavy Aboriginal Aesthetic but apparently remained true to the original text. We were asked to create an artwork based on the Opera.

I originally intended to do a carving, but when I began workshopping ideas, I imagined colours. I decided to create a triptych painted on wooden panels; each panel is 16”/16”.

This first panel is a representation of Sarastro as a Sun mask, the design around his head is his servant Monostatos. The reason I made Monostatos look like a rat is because of the rendition I viewed by the Vancouver Opera.

The second panel represents Tamino and Papageno; I saw them as on a similar journey or even two sides of the same coin. They are both heroic and foolish in their own ways, this is why I made them a two headed figure. Above their left hand is Papageno’s magic bells and above their right is Tomino’s magic flute.

The final panel in the triptych represents the queen of the night and her three lady helpers. The aesthetics of the queen is related to the Vancouver Opera’s previous version, though the Chilkat was my own choice.